Cached and server views with automatic caching and smooth scrolling

ABSTRACT

On a client computer, customer relationship management software is integrated into a messaging application that includes a user interface. Customer relationship management (CRM) information is received from a server computer. An automatic determination is made as to whether the received CRM information is to be cached on the client computer. When it is determined that the CRM information is to be cached on the client computer, the CRM information is cached in a cache on the client computer. When at least some of the CRM information is cached on the client computer, the cached CRM information is displayed as a view on the client computer. The display of the CRM information is integrated into the user interface of the messaging application program.

BACKGROUND

Customer relationship management (CRM) provides a means for managing acompany's interactions with clients and sales prospects and providingcustomer information regarding products, services and customer accounts.Server based customer relationship management software provides abusiness applications platform for customer relationship management,typically using a client/server model. Using a server based CRM system,a user at a client computer is able to access CRM information from aserver computer and display CRM information at the client computer.

Client-based CRM software can be integrated into application software ona client computer, providing a user a commonly used platform from whichto access CRM information. However, depending on the connectivity andbandwidth between a CRM server and a CRM client, performance issues canresult. In addition, obtaining server-based CRM information via aclient-based program may sometimes result in authentication issues, webbrowser errors and an unsatisfying user experience at the clientcomputer.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to a method implemented on aclient computer for displaying customer relationship information on amessaging application. On the client computer, customer relationshipmanagement software is integrated into the messaging application. Themessaging application includes a user interface. Customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) information is received from a server computer. Anautomatic determination is made as to whether the received CRMinformation is to be cached on the client computer. When it isdetermined that the CRM information is to be cached on the clientcomputer, the CRM information is cached in a cache on the clientcomputer. When at least some of the CRM information is cached on theclient computer, the cached CRM information is displayed as a view onthe client computer. The display of the CRM information is integratedinto the user interface of the messaging application program.

The details of one or more techniques are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, objects, andadvantages of these techniques will be apparent from the description,drawings, and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example system that supports automatic caching of CRMinformation and smooth scrolling at a client computer.

FIG. 2 shows example modules for a client computer and a server computerof the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows example modules of an email application for the clientcomputer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows an example user interface of the email application for theclient computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows a list of actions that cause CRM information to be cachedat the client computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 shows a list of actions and views that are not cached at theclient computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 shows a table that lists example differences in the behavior ofthe email application for the client computer of FIG. 2 for cached viewsand non-cached views when a column is removed from a rendered display ofCRM information at the client computer.

FIG. 8 shows a table that lists example differences in the behavior ofthe email application for the client computer of FIG. 2 for cached viewsand non-cached views when a column is added to a rendered display of CRMinformation at the client computer.

FIG. 9 shows a table that lists example differences in the behavior ofthe email application for the client computer of FIG. 2 for cached viewsand non-cached views when a visible column is filtered and sorted at theclient computer.

FIG. 10 shows a table that lists example differences in the behavior ofthe email application for the client computer of FIG. 2 for cached viewsand non-cached views when an invisible column is filtered and sorted atthe client computer.

FIG. 11 shows a table that lists example differences in the behavior ofthe email application for the client computer for cached views andnon-cached views during a search operation at the email application forthe client computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 shows a table that lists example actions and conditions thatcause a list of CRM information to be removed from the cache of theclient computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 13 shows a table that lists example actions and conditions thatresult in the cache for the email application on client computer beingupdated with new CRM information.

FIG. 14 shows an example flowchart for displaying CRM information in theemail application for the client computer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 15 shows an example flowchart indicating actions and conditionsthat cause CRM information to be cached.

FIG. 16 shows example components of the client computer of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application is directed to systems and methods forintegrating CRM information into a client-based messaging application. Acache is used on the client computer to store certain CRM informationretrieved from a server computer before the retrieved CRM information isdisplayed on the client computer. The cache is a memory area on theclient computer that temporarily stores the retrieved CRM informationbefore the CRM information is rendered on the client computer. A cachingalgorithm at the client computer determines which CRM information iscached and when. The CRM information is seamlessly integrated into auser interface of the client-based messaging application, providingsmooth scrolling of CRM display screens. In addition, the caching of CRMinformation at the client computer improves response time for thedisplay of CRM information at the client computer, particularly when theclient computer is located remotely from a server computer that providesthe CRM information.

CRM information typically includes information regarding customers,customer accounts, products, sales prospects, service issues and otherrelated items. CRM information is commonly stored on a server computerand displayed as a web page in the form of lists. For example, a userrunning CRM software on a client computer may access a CRM web page fromthe server computer via a web browser on the client computer. The CRMweb page may display a list of customers, a list of products, a list ofservice issues, etc. When CRM software is installed on the clientcomputer and integrated into the client-based email application, the CRMinformation is rendered within the messaging application on the clientcomputer instead of being rendered as a web page on the client computer.

FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 that supports caching and smoothscrolling of CRM information at a client computer. The example system100 includes client computers 102, 104, network 106 and server computers108, 110. Client computers 102, 104 include software, such as MicrosoftOffice Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration software from MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash., that provides email application softwarefor client computers 102, 104. Server computers 108, 110 include CRMsoftware such as Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 5.0 customer relationshipmanagement software from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. thatprovides CRM functionality. An email application is one example of amessaging application. Files and data located on server computers 108,110 are accessible to client computers 102, 104 through network 106. Oneexample of network 106 is a corporate Intranet network. More or fewerclient computers, networks and server computers may be used.

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of client computer 102 and servercomputer 108 of system 100. Client computer 102 includes an emailapplication 202, for example Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messagingand collaboration software. The example email application 202 includessoftware, such as Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 5.0 for Outlook® customerrelationship management software that integrates CRM functionality intothe email application 202. The example server computer 108 includes auser interface module 204, an application platform module 206 and adatabase module 208.

The CRM software included on server computer 108, for example MicrosoftDynamics® CRM 5.0 customer relationship management software, includes athree-tiered architecture. A first tier, represented by the example userinterface module 204 provides a user interface that includes aserver-side script engine such as active server pages (ASP) or ASP.net,both from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. The first tier issometimes referred to as the presentation tier. The user interface alsoincludes forms that permit a user to formulate search queries. A secondtier, represented by application platform module 206 includes businesslogic and rules used to process requests for CRM information. Requestsfor CRM information are typically received over network 106 via webservices. The second tier is sometimes referred to as the applicationtier. A third tier, represented by database module 208 includes adatabase in which CRM information is stored. An example database is theMicrosoft SQL Server® 2008 database server from Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

Using the client computer 102 and server computer 108 shown in FIG. 2,the example email application 202 communicates requests for CRMinformation directly to application platform module 206, bypassing theuser interface module 204. CRM information is obtained from theapplications module 206 via web services. Web services are applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) that are used to obtain information from aremote server over a network, such as network 106. The applicationsplatform module 206 includes a web services interface that provides anapplication program interface (API) for third parties such as emailapplication 202.

The email application 202 uses web services to communicate requests tothe example applications module 206 for CRM information. The emailapplication 202 uses a messaging application programming interface torender the CRM information. An example application programming interfaceused with Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaborationsoftware is the Microsoft messaging application programming interface(MAPI). With MAPI, instead of displaying CRM information as web page onclient computer 102, the CRM information obtained from server computer108 via applications platform module 206 is integrated into the userinterface of the email application 202, for example the Microsoft OfficeOutlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration software user interface. Theintegration of CRM information into a scrollable window of the emailapplication 202 is described in more detail later in this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows example modules of the email application 202. The exampleemail application 202 includes a caching logic module 302, a view updatemodule 304, a notifications module 306 and a user interface module 308.In examples, the caching logic module 302, the view update module 304and the notifications module 306 may be implemented separately from theemail application on client computer 102.

The example caching logic module 302 implements a caching algorithm thatautomatically determines whether CRM information obtained from servercomputer 108 is to be cached on client computer 102 before the CRMinformation is displayed on client computer 102. CRM information that isnot cached on client computer 102 is displayed on client computer 102 asa server view. In a server view, CRM information obtained from clientcomputer 102 is displayed on client computer 102 directly without beingcached. The caching algorithm is a set of rules implemented on clientcomputer 102 and informed by settings or properties on server computer108. The automatic determination as to whether CRM information is to becached is based on the rules implemented in the caching algorithm.

The example view update module 304 processes changes that a user canmake to a view. Some example changes that a user can make to a viewinclude removing a column from a view, adding a column to a view,filtering and sorting on a visible column and filtering and sorting onan invisible column.

The example notifications module 306 processes notifications from theserver computer 108 regarding server and cached views. A notification isan indication from the server computer 108 that new CRM information isavailable at the server computer 108. Typically, for server views, apage update is requested when a page of CRM information is processed atclient computer 102. For cached views, a notification polling techniqueis used. With notification polling, the cache on the client computer 102is periodically updated with CRM information. A typically pollinginterval is five minutes, although other polling intervals may be used.The notifications module 306 also notifies the email application 202when CRM information is added to the cache, when CRM information isdeleted from the cache and when CRM information stored in the cache isupdated.

The example user interface module 308 provides a user interface for theemail application 202. The user interface includes one or more grids inwhich email related information, including CRM information, may bedisplayed. A grid is an area of the user interface, typically a seriesof columns and rows, in which email messages, lists, etc. are displayed.Examples grids are described in FIG. 4 below.

FIG. 4 shows an example user interface 400 displayed by emailapplication 202. The example user interface 400 shows a CRM menu item402 added to the menu of the email application 202. The example CRM menuitem 402 is typically added during the installation of CRM applicationsoftware, for example Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 5.0 for Outlook® customerrelationship management software, for the email application 202. Whenthe CRM application software is installed for the email application, inexamples a Dynamics CRM folder 404 is added to the mail folders 405 gridon the email application 202.

The example Dynamics CRM folder 404 includes a marketing subfolder 406and other subfolders not shown. For example additional subfolders mayinclude a sales subfolder, a products subfolder, a services subfolder,etc. The example marketing subfolder 406 includes an accounts subfolder408, a campaigns subfolder 422, a contacts subfolder 424, a leadssubfolder 426, a marketing lists subfolder 428 and other subfolders notshown. Other folders and subfolders are possible.

When a user selects the accounts subfolder 408, an accounts summaryscreen 410 is displayed. The example accounts summary screen 410displays a list of accounts information, including example fields ofaccount name 412, main phone 414, city 416 and primary contact 418. Theinformation in the accounts summary screen 410 is obtained from the CRMsoftware application, for example Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 5.0, runningon server computer 108. However, instead of displaying the informationin the accounts summary screen 410 in a web browser, the accountssummary screen 410 is displayed in a grid 403 of the email application202.

There can be advantages for displaying the information in the grid 403.For example, instead of having to manually select multiple pages ofaccount summary screen information on a web browser, for example byclicking a next page button on the web browser, a user can simply scrollthrough the accounts summary screen 410 using example scroll bar 420. Inaddition, the native filtering aspects of the email application 202 canbe used to re-sort or filter data shown in the different columns of thegrid 403. In this manner, CRM information from server computer 108 isseamlessly integrated into the email application 202, providing smoothscrolling and displaying the CRM information in a user interface withwhich the user of the email application is familiar.

When a user selects the campaigns subfolder 422, a similar list ofmarketing campaign information is displayed on the user interface of theemail application 202. The marketing campaign information is displayedin the same grid 403 on the email application 202 as the accountssummary screen 410. In a similar manner, when a user selects thecontacts subfolder 424, the leads subfolder 426 or the marketing listssubfolder 428, CRM information corresponding to those folders isdisplayed in the same grid space on the email application 202. A scrollbar 420 permits a user to smooth scroll through the displays of CRMinformation.

Caching a view can improve performance on client computer 102 becauseCRM information is stored on client computer 102 and is available forrendering on the email application 202 without waiting for the CRMinformation to be retrieved from server computer 108. When a view is notcached, the view is retrieved from the server computer 108 each time theview is rendered. In this disclosure, non-cached views are also known asserver views. Views that are not cached are rendered as server views.

For views that include a long list of CRM information, for example alist of customer contacts or a list of products, caching the view makesit possible to render the list in a scrollable window that is smoothlyscrollable for a user. Using web services, the email application 202obtains the size of the list from the server computer. The emailapplication 202 uses the size of the list to determine how many itemsare to be displayed. For example, if the list contains 8,000 items andonly 150 items can be displayed in one view, the email application 202renders a scroll bar such that any of the 8,000 items may be displayed.For a cached view, the email application 202 obtains the CRM listinformation from the cache. When a user scrolls to a point in the listthat is not currently stored in the cache, the email application 202makes a request to server computer 108 via web services to obtain theCRM list information that is needed for display.

When CRM information is stored in the cache on client computer 102, if acached view is selected, for example by selecting the accounts subfolder408, the view is rendered from the cache rather than from the servercomputer 108. For example, if there are connectivity or bandwidth issuesbetween server computer 108 and client computer 102, because CRMinformation is obtained and rendered from the cache, the user sees afaster response time than for a server view.

Server views are also rendered in a scrollable window in the emailapplication 202. When a user scrolls to a portion of the view that isnot currently displayed, the client computer 102 requests the CRMinformation for the portion of the view from the server computer 108.When the client computer 102 receives the CRM information for theportion of the view that is not currently displayed, the CRM informationis displayed in the scrollable window. CRM information may be obtainedfrom the server computer 108 out of sequence if, for example, the userscrolls past more than one page of CRM information, for example byscrolling to the bottom of the scrollable window.

In this manner, the user views CRM information in a scrollable windowwhether the CRM information is cached or not. Furthermore, the user isnot required to manually click on a button to obtain a page of CRMinformation. The scroll bar acts as a paging control. The user simplyscrolls to a portion of a view and CRM information is automatically andsmoothly rendered for the view. The paging mechanism is transparent tothe user.

FIG. 5 shows a list of actions 500 that cause CRM information from theserver computer 108 to be cached at the client computer 102. The cachingalgorithm used in the example caching logic module 302 includes the listof actions in making a determination as to whether CRM information is tobe cached. The actions include marking a view as a favorite, frequentlyaccessing a view and executing a cached only action on a non-cachedview. An example of marking a view as a favorite is pinning a view. Inthis disclosure, marking a view as a favorite is also referred to aspinning a view.

Pinning a view refers to a user selecting a frequently accessed view ora view that is important to the user and placing a pin device into theview. A pinned view is a favorite view of the user. The pin device is agraphical representation of a pin or a thumb tack that secures the viewin place on the display screen of the email application 202. Pinning aview designates the view for caching on the client computer.

For example, a user may be a salesperson who has contacts in the statesof Washington and Oregon. When the user presses the example contactsbutton 434 on example user interface 400, in examples tabs are displayedfor several states including Washington and Oregon. The user may placepins on the tabs for Washington and Oregon to designate that these tabsare favorites. When a user selects the tab for Washington or the tab forOregon, a list of contacts is displayed. When the tab is pinned, thelist of contacts is obtained from the cache rather than from servercomputer 108. The cache receives periodic updates from the servercomputer 108. Also, at periodic intervals, the pinned view is updatedfrom the cache.

Sometimes a user may pin a view that is a non-cacheable view. A view canbe non-cacheable for various reasons. For a first example, anadministrator may set up one or more views to be uncacheable forsecurity reasons. As a second example, a server may have a particularsize limitation in which caching is not permitted for a file above orbelow a particular size. A third example is when a view requires aserver computer function before the view can be rendered.

For example, a view may display a list of customers that have not placedan order within the last six months. Because the server computer, forexample server computer 108, executes a server-based function todetermine which customers have not placed an order within the last sixmonths, a request is sent to the server computer to display thisinformation and the list information cannot be cached at the clientcomputer 102. When the user pins a view that is non-cacheable, anotification, typically a message, is displayed on the user interface ofthe email application 202. In some examples a message is not displayed.However, pinning a non-cacheable view is non-blocking. This means thatthe view is still displayed even though the view is not cached. Useractions are not blocked as a result of attempting to pin a view that isnon-cacheable.

In addition to pinned views, frequently accessed views are also cached.A user may not be aware of pinned views or may not have the skill to usepinned views. The caching of frequently accessed views improves systemperformance for users who do not use pinned views. In examples, afrequently accessed view is a view that is accessed a certain number oftimes (e.g., three times) within a configurable time period (e.g., 72hours). When the view is opened for the third time with the configuredtime period, the view is cached. The view needs to remain open for atleast seven seconds each time the view is accessed in order thataccidental clicks are not counted. When a frequently accessed view iscached, CRM information for the view from server computer 108 is storedin a cache and the view is rendered from the cache. Other methods fordetermining frequency can also be used.

Executing a cached only action on a non-cached view also causes a viewto be cached. There are certain actions that can be performed at theemail application 202, for example on Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007messaging and collaboration software, that cannot be performed via theCRM software running on server computer 108. For example, when a viewrendered at the email application 202 includes multiple value fields,the multiple value fields are typically sortable at the emailapplication 202. For example, the example accounts screen summary 410may be sortable by account name 412, main phone 414, city 416 or primarycontact 418, etc. As other example, the email application 202 mayprovide the capability for grouping items. For example, email messagesmay be grouped by messages received yesterday, last week or last month.Whenever a user attempts to sort a multiple value field or attempts togroup items in a view for a view which is non cached, the action ofsorting or grouping causes the view to be cached.

When an attempt is made to cache a view and the view cannot be cached,the user is notified of the failed attempt at caching. The notificationis typically an alert message on the user interface of the emailapplication 202. When a view cannot be cached, CRM information isobtained from server computer 108 and a server view is rendered.

FIG. 6 is a table 600 that shows a list of actions and views that arenot cached. Actions and views that are not cached include resourceintensive queries, technically difficult views and views specified asnot to be cached by an administrator. In general, all views are cachedexcept those views fitting into these three categories.

A resource intensive query is a query that is costly in terms of serverresources. Whether a query is costly is determined by the amount of timea query takes to execute. A query which takes more than 45 seconds toobtain the first 5,000 bytes of CRM information from server computer 108is considered a costly query. When it takes more than 45 seconds toobtain the first 5,000 bytes of CRM information from server computer108, the CRM information is not cached at the client computer 102.However, when it takes 45 seconds or less to obtain the first 5,000 orless bytes of CRM information from server computer 108, the CRMinformation obtained from server computer 108 is cached at clientcomputer 102, unless the CRM information is a technically difficult viewor is specified as non-cacheable by an administrator. In examples,different values may be used for the time and size parameters used todetermine whether CRM information can be cached.

When a determination is made not to cache CRM information because thetime to obtain the first 5,000 bytes of CRM information is greater than45 seconds, a random number between one and eight selected and ananother attempt at caching is made N hours after the first attempt atcaching, where N is the selected random number. When five attempts atcaching fail, meaning that the time to obtain the first 5,000 bytes ofCRM information is greater than 45 seconds for each attempt, the CRMinformation is displayed as a server view for one month. At the end ofone month, another attempt is made to cache the CRM information from thequery.

An example of a technically difficult view is a view that requiresinformation from server computer 108 each time the view is rendered.Logic on server computer 208 may be used to obtain the CRM informationin the view before the view is rendered on the email application 202.Because the CRM information for the view is obtained from the servercomputer 108 before the CRM information is rendered, there is noadvantage to storing the CRM information in the cache.

In addition, administrators can configure the email application 202 todisable caching. Caching may be disabled completely on the emailapplication 202 or caching may be disabled on a view by view basis.Administrators may configure the email application 202 to disablecaching due to privacy concerns, for example to prevent the display ofsocial security numbers or to comply with federal privacy regulations inHIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)or in SOX (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002). Administrators may alsoconfigure the email application 202 to disable caching due toperformance concerns. Other reasons for an administrator configuring theemail application 202 to disable caching are possible.

FIG. 7 is a table 700 that shows example differences in the behavior ofthe email application 202 between cached views and non-cached views whena column is removed from a rendered display of CRM information at clientcomputer 102. The table 700 shows that for both cached and non-cachedviews, when a column is removed from a rendered display of CRMinformation, for both the cached view and the non-cached view, thebehavior of the email application is the same. For each case, the userdoes not notice any difference in the behavior of the email application.The column is removed and grid of the email application 202 from whichthe column is removed remains in focus.

FIG. 8 is a table 800 that shows example differences in the behavior ofthe email application 202 between cached views and non-cached views whena column is added to a rendered display of CRM information at clientcomputer 102. For a cached view, new column data is retrieved from theserver computer 108. The new column data is retrieved from the currentpage displayed at the client computer 102. Even though the cache storescolumns of CRM information currently displayed at client computer 102,CRM information for the added column is obtained from the servercomputer 108 and added to the cache. The user can continue to work whilethe new column data is obtained and the user focus on the current pageof the email application 202 is maintained. When the column informationfor the current page is obtained, the column is added to the currentpage.

For a non-cached view, when a column is added to a view, CRM informationfor the added column is obtained from server computer 108 for thecurrent rendered page. When a user scrolls to a new page, CRMinformation is obtained from the server computer 108 for the new page.Because CRM information is not cached, it generally takes longer todisplay CRM information for the non-cached view. In addition, for thenon-cached view, CRM information for the added column is not obtained inadvance. CRM information for the added column is obtained for thecurrent view. The user can continue to work while CRM information isobtained.

However, the view currently displayed may include many pages of CRMinformation. Typically the client computer 102 retrieves one page ofdata for the added column for each request for CRM information from theserver computer 108. Typically, each page of added column data isretrieved in sequence. However, a user may scroll to a page of CRMinformation for which the added column has not yet been obtained. Forexample, a user may scroll to the end of the accounts summary screen 410before all pages an added column for the accounts summary screen 410 isretrieved from the server computer 108.

The performance characteristics of the client and server computers andthe network conditions connecting the client computer and the servercomputer determine how long it takes to retrieve a page of data from theserver computer. Depending on the performance characteristics andnetwork conditions, a user may scroll to the bottom of a view of CRMinformation before the corresponding page of CRM information isretrieved from the server computer.

When the user scrolls to a page of column data that has not beenretrieved, the page of column data takes priority over other pages ofcolumn data. For example, if the accounts summary screen 410 isconstructed from eight pages of CRM information and added column datafor only three pages has been retrieved, when a user scrolls to the endof the accounts summary screen 410, page 8 of CRM information for theaccounts summary screen 410 is requested from server computer 108. Whenpage 8 of CRM information is retrieved from server computer 108, theadded column data from page 8 is smoothly integrated into the accountssummary screen 410.

FIG. 9 shows a table 900 that indicates example differences in thebehavior of the email application 202 between cached views andnon-cached views when a visible column is filtered and sorted at clientcomputer 102. A visible column is a column that is rendered anddisplayed on the email application 202. Filtering a visible columnrefers to rendering only a subset of the CRM information for the columnbased on filtering criteria. For example, a user may wish to filter theaccounts name 412 column to only display accounts that have been openedin the last 30 days. Sorting a visible column refers to ordering thecolumn based on sorting criteria. For example, a user may wish to sortthe accounts name 412 column so that the account names are inalphabetical order. Other examples of filtering and sorting arepossible.

The basic distinction between filtering and sorting in a cached view incontrast to a non-cached view is that for the cached view, the filteringand sorting is performed on the email application 202 using CRMinformation stored in the cache. Thus, for example, when a user decidesto filter the accounts name 412 column to only display accounts thathave been opened in the last 30 days, the user selects the filteringcriteria on the user interface of the email application 202 and theaccounts name 412 column is filtered based on CRM information stored inthe cache. When filtering or sorting occurs, the user's focus ismaintained, meaning that the current page, for example the accountsummary screen 410, remains in the user's view while the filtering orsorting is occurring. Any CRM information removed from the view, forexample accounts 30 days and older, remains in the cache.

For the non-cached view, the email application 202 informs the servercomputer 108 that a visible column is to be filtered and sorted and theserver computer 108 performs the filtering and sorting. The user selectsfiltering and sorting criteria just as for the cached view, but for thenon-cached view the filtering or sorting criteria are sent to the servercomputer 108, typically via a web services message. When the servercomputer 108 processes the filtering or sorting criteria, the servercomputer 108 sends the email application 202 an updated page of CRMinformation. The updated page of CRM information is rendered toincorporate the filtering and sorting criteria. When the updated page ofCRM information is rendered on the email application 202, the renderedview, for example the accounts summary screen 410, and the user's focuson the rendered view, may be temporarily lost due to the time that ittakes the server computer 108 to process the updated page of CRMinformation and send the updated page of CRM information to the emailapplication 202.

FIG. 10 shows a table 1000 that indicates example differences in thebehavior of the email application 202 between cached views andnon-cached views when an invisible column is filtered and sorted atclient computer 102. Some email applications, for example the MicrosoftOffice Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration software, permit a userto sort and filter on columns not visible in the current view.Typically, a user interface menu command permits the user to customizethe current view, displaying in a dialog box columns not rendered in thecurrent view. In addition, customizing the current view permits columnsto be grouped by combining one or columns. For example, for a viewdisplaying a list of marketing contacts, there may be an invisiblecolumn for the birthday of the each of the marketing contacts. If themarketing contacts are sorted by birthday, the birthday column canremain invisible.

When an invisible column is sorted, filtered or grouped for a cachedview, CRM information for the invisible column is obtained from theserver computer 108 and stored in the cache on client computer 102. TheCRM information is obtained from the server computer 108 because thecache only stores information needed to render visible portions of theview. Therefore, information for the invisible column is not in thecache and needs to be obtained from the server computer 108. User focuson the current view, for example on the accounts summary screen 410 ismaintained while the invisible column data is obtained from the servercomputer 108. The user can continue to work while the invisible columndata is obtained. When the invisible column data is obtained and cached,the current view is sorted, filtered or grouped based the way in whichthe user customizes the current view.

When an invisible column is sorted, filtered or grouped for a non-cachedview, instructions are sent to the server computer 108 regarding how aninvisible column is to be sorted, filtered or grouped. The instructionsare typically sent to the server computer 108 via a web services messagesent from the client computer 102. When the server computer 108,receives the instructions, the server computer 108 performs sorting,filtering or grouping based on the instructions. The server computer 108then sends a page of sorted, grouped or filtered CRM information toclient computer 102 for rendering on the email application 202. Thefocus of the rendered page of CRM information is typically on the firstitem of the list rendered on the email application 202.

FIG. 11 shows a table 1100 that indicates example behavior for cachedviews and non-cached views for a search operation at the emailapplication 202. Some email applications, for example Microsoft OfficeOutlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration software, permit searching foremails to or from selected individuals. For example a user may wish tolocate all emails received from certain individuals for a specifiedrange of dates. For both cached views and for non-cached views suchsearch operations are performed on server computer 108. Email searchesare performed on server computer 108 to ensure that a complete set ofemails is searched. This is done because the cache may not include allthe emails stored in the database available to server computer 108.

Because email searches are performed on server computer 108 for bothcached views and non-cached views, search behavior is the same for bothcached and non-cached views. When a search is executed on the servercomputer 108, grouping and arranging are disabled for the duration ofthe search. For a cached view, grouping and arranging make use of thecache. Because the cache is updated during the search, grouping andarranging are disabled until the search is completed. For a non-cachedview, searching, grouping and arranging are performed on the servercomputer 108. Because it is desirable that any grouping or rearrangingbe performed on the search results, grouping and rearranging aredisabled for the non-cached view until the search is completed.

FIG. 12 shows a table 1200 that lists actions and conditions that causea list of CRM information to be removed from the cache. Actions andconditions that cause a list of CRM information to be removed from thecache include unpinning a view, making an irreconcilable view change,exceeding disk size limitations and exceeding database size limitations.Because pinning a view causes CRM information for the view to be storedin the cache, unpinning the view removes the CRM information from thecache. When the CRM information is removed from the view becomes aserver view.

An irreconcilable view change is any view change that causes an updateat the server computer 108 for the entire view. For example, if acomplex change has occurred in a view, for example adding many columnsor rows, and a determination is made at the email application 202 thatCRM information for the entire view is to be obtained from the servercomputer 108, the view becomes a server view and CRM information for theview is removed from the cache. Once the view is updated, adetermination is made as to whether the view is to be cached again. Forexample, when it is determined that the view is pinned, the updated CRMinformation for the view is cached.

An example size limitation on the disk drive of the client computer 102is 1 gigabyte. An example size limitation for the example databasemodule 208 is 4 gigabytes. In addition, an administrator may configure asize limitation for the disk drive or for the database module 208 thatis lower than the actual size limitations of the disk drive and thedatabase module 208. When the available disk space on the disk drive iswithin 100 megabytes of the actual size limitation or the lower sizelimitation configured by the administrator, the cache is aged and theoldest cached view is deleted from the cache on client computer 102. Inexamples, the cache may be aged when the available disk drive space ismore or less than 100 megabytes of the actual size limitation or thelower size limitation configured by the administrator.

FIG. 13 shows a table 1300 that lists actions and conditions that resultin the cache for the email application on client computer 102 beingupdated with new CRM information. Actions and conditions that result inthe cache being updated with new CRM information are also referred to asnotifications. The cache is updated whenever a new view is created,updated or deleted or when a view is changed. A view is updated wheneverthe user scrolls the view by using the example scroll bar 420, when anew column is added or deleted, or for a similar type action. A view ischanged when a user selects a different type of CRM information todisplay, for example by selecting a different CRM folder, for examplethe campaigns folder 422, the contacts folder 424, the leads folder 426or the marketing lists folder 428. When a view is changed, there istypically a short pause, for example 5 seconds, before the cache isupdated.

The cache is also updated when a filtering operation is reset. Afiltering operation is reset when a filter is no longer used. When afilter is no longer used a non-filtered view is rendered and informationrelating to the filtered view is no longer cached. In examples, theemail application 202 periodically performs a query, typically every 15minutes to determine whether a filter is still active. The 15 minutequery interval is configurable.

The cache is also updated during a polling operation or during a manualrefresh of the current view. Typically, the email application 202 uses apolled notification methodology. With polled notifications, cacheupdates are obtained periodically from the server computer 108,typically every 5 minutes. The polling interval is configurable. Manualupdates occur when the user clicks a button having refresh functionalityon the user interface of the email application 202.

FIG. 14 shows an example flowchart 1400 for displaying CRM informationin an email application, for example email application 202, running on aclient computer, for example on client computer 102. At operation 1402,CRM software is integrated into the email application. The integrationof the CRM software into the email application typically comprisesinstalling a plug-in module for the CRM software on the client computer.An example of an email application that runs of client computer 102 isMicrosoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration software. Anexample of CRM software that can be installed via a plug-in module isMicrosoft Dynamics® CRM 5.0 for Outlook® customer relationshipmanagement software.

When the CRM software is integrated into the email application atoperation 1402, the CRM functionality is made available to a user of theemail application. As shown in FIG. 4, example CRM functionalityincludes a CRM menu item 402, an example Dynamics CRM folder 404,example Dynamics CRM subfolders including an accounts subfolder 408, andexample accounts summary screen 410. In examples, the accounts summaryscreen 410 is rendered when a user selects the accounts subfolder 408.

At operation 1404, CRM information is received from a server computer,for example from server computer 108. The CRM information is receivedwhen a user at the email application performs an action related to thedisplay of CRM information. For example, when the user selects theexample accounts subfolder 408, the email application requests CRMinformation from the server computer related to the accounts subfolder408. The requested information is received at the client computer atoperation 1404.

At operation 1406, a determination is made as to whether the receivedCRM information is to be cached at the client computer. The examplecaching logic module 302 automatically determines whether the receivedCRM information is to be cached based on a caching algorithm. Actions orconditions included as rules in the caching algorithm that determinewhether received CRM information is to be cached include whether a userpins a view, whether a view is a frequently accessed view and whether amultiple value field in the view is grouped or sorted.

At operation 1406, when a determination is made that the view is not tobe cached, at operation 1408, the view is displayed as a server view.When a view is displayed at a server view, all updates to the view areobtained from the server computer, for example from server computer 108,instead of being obtained from the cache.

At operation, 1406, when a determination is made that the view is to becached, at operation 1410, an attempt is made to cache the received CRMinformation for the view. An attempt is made to cache the received CRMinformation because errors sometimes occur when storing information in acache. The errors are typically related to the cache being at apredetermined size limit, although other errors, for example hardwareerrors can also occur.

At operation 1412, a determination is made as to whether the cacheoperation 1406 succeeded. At operation 1412, when a determination ismade that the cache operation 1406 succeeded, meaning that the CRMinformation is stored in the cache, at operation 1414, the CRMinformation is displayed as a cached view. The cache is periodicallyupdated from the server computer and the view is updated with CRMinformation obtained from the cache.

FIG. 15 shows an example flowchart 1500 indicating actions andconditions that cause CRM information to be cached. The exampleflowchart 1500 describes operation 1406 in more detail. The actions andconditions that cause CRM information to be cached include pinning aview, frequently accessing a view and caching a view.

At operation 1502, a determination is made as to whether a view has beenpinned. A view is pinned when a user attaches a graphical representationof a pin, thumbtack or similar pinning object to view. When it isdetermined at operation 1502 that a view has been pinned, at operation1410 an attempt is made to cache the view.

At operation 1504, a determination is made as to whether a view is afrequently accessed view. In examples, a frequently accessed view is aview that has been accessed at least three times in a 72 hour period andin which the view is accessed for at least seven seconds each time.Accessing a view for at least seven seconds minimizing the possibilityof false clicks, and thereby false determinations that a view is to becached. The time period for which a view is accessed three times isconfigurable. When it is determined at operation 1504 that a view is afrequently accessed view, at operation 1410 at attempt is made to cachethe view.

At operation 1506, a determination is made as to whether a cache-onlyaction has been performed on a view. Examples of cache-only actions aregrouping or sorting on a multiple value field in a view, filtering orsorting on a column in the view and adding a column to an already cachedview. Other cache-only actions are possible. When it is determined atoperation 1506 that a cache-only action has been performed on a view, atoperation 1410, an attempt is made to cache the view.

In examples, when it is determined that a view has not been pinned peroperation 1502, a view is not a frequently accessed view per operation1504 and a view is not a cache-only view per operation 1506, atoperation 1408 the view is displayed as a server view. When the view isobtained as server view, all updates for the view are obtained from theserver computer, for example from server computer 108, rather than fromthe cache. Additional actions or conditions that cause a view to becached are possible.

With reference to FIG. 16, example components of client computer 102 areshown. In example embodiments, the client computer is a computingdevice. The client computer 102 can include input/output devices, acentral processing unit (“CPU”), a data storage device, and a networkdevice. The other client computer 104 and the server computers 108, 110can be configured in a similar manner.

In a basic configuration, the client computer 102 typically includes atleast one processing unit 1602 and system memory 1604. Depending on theexact configuration and type of computing device, the system memory 1604may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory,etc.) or some combination of the two. System memory 1604 typicallyincludes an operating system 1606 suitable for controlling the operationof a networked personal computer, such as the Windows® operating systemsfrom Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. or a server, such asMicrosoft Exchange Server 2007, also from Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash. The system memory 1604 may also include one or moresoftware applications 1608 and may include program data.

The client computer 102 may have additional features or functionality.For example, the client computer 102 may also include computer readablemedia. Computer readable media can include both computer readablestorage media and communication media.

Computer readable storage media is physical media, such as data storagedevices (removable and/or non-removable) including magnetic disks,optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in FIG.16 by removable storage 1610 and non-removable storage 1612. Computerreadable storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. Computer readable storagemedia can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed byclient computer 102. Any such computer readable storage media may bepart of the client computer 102. Client computer 102 may also have inputdevice(s) 1614 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touchinput device, etc. Output device(s) 1616 such as a display, speakers,printer, etc. may also be included.

The client computer 102 may also contain communication connections 1618that allow the device to communicate with other computing devices 1620,such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, forexample, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 1618 isone example of communication media. Communication media may typically beembodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one ormore of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limiting. Variousmodifications and changes that may be made to the embodiments describedabove without departing from the true spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

1. A method implemented on a client computer for displaying customerrelationship information on a messaging application, the methodcomprising: on the client computer, integrating customer relationshipmanagement software into the messaging application, the messagingapplication including a user interface; receiving customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) information from a server computer; caching thereceived CRM information in a cache on the client computer; anddisplaying the cached CRM information as a scrollable view on the clientcomputer so that the CRM information is integrated into the userinterface of the messaging application.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein integration of the CRM information into the user interface ofthe messaging application comprises displaying a CRM related folder andone or more CRM related subfolders in a first grid of the messagingapplication, the messaging application being an email application. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying a plurality ofcolumns of CRM information in a second grid of the email application. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the second grid includes a scroll bar forscrolling the CRM information displayed in the second grid.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: displaying two or more columns ofthe CRM information in a grid of the messaging application; removing acolumn of the CRM information from the grid; and maintaining a focus ofthe grid of the messaging application when the column of the CRMinformation is removed from the grid.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying one or more columns of the CRM information in agrid of the messaging application; adding a column of the CRMinformation to the grid; maintaining a focus of the grid of themessaging application when the column of the CRM information is added tothe grid.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving arequest to scroll the CRM information after the column is added to thegrid; scrolling the CRM information until a new page of CRM informationis displayed in the grid; and displaying the column in the new page ofCRM information.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the cachedCRM information further comprises: displaying one or more columns of thecached CRM information; sorting the cached CRM information in one of thecolumns; and maintaining a focus of the cached CRM information as theone column is being sorted.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein displayingthe cached CRM information further comprises: displaying one or morecolumns of the cached CRM information; filtering the cached CRMinformation in one of the columns; displaying a subset of the cached CRMinformation in the column being filtered; and maintaining a focus of thecached CRM information as the one column is being filtered.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: sorting cached CRM informationnot currently being displayed; and maintaining a focus of the cached CRMinformation being displayed when the cached CRM information notcurrently being displayed is sorted.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: filtering cached CRM information not currently beingdisplayed; and maintaining a focus of the cached CRM information beingdisplayed when the cached CRM information not currently being displayedis filtered.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior tocaching the received CRM information, processing a view as a favorite onthe user interface.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: priorto caching the received CRM information, processing a user access of aview on the user interface a first number of times within a first timeinterval.
 14. A computing device comprising: a processing unit; a systemmemory, the system memory including a cache that receives and storescustomer relationship management (CRM) information obtained from aserver computer, and the system memory encoding instructions that, whenexecuted by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to create: anemail application module that implements an email application on thecomputing device, the email application module including a userinterface module that renders one or more views of CRM information inone or more grids of the email application; a view update module thatprocesses changes a user makes to the one or more views of CRMinformation; and a caching logic module that caches CRM informationobtained the from the server computer; wherein the user interface modulerenders the one or more views of CRM information in a scrollable windowthat is integrated into the grids of the email application in which theview is rendered.
 15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the viewupdate module processes a removal of a column of CRM information fromthe one or more grids of the email application, the view update modulemaintaining a focus of the one or more grids when the column of CRMinformation is removed from the one or more grids.
 16. The computingdevice of claim 14, wherein the view update module processes an additionof a column of CRM information from the one or more grids of the emailapplication, the view update module maintaining a focus of the one ormore grids when the column of CRM information is added to the one ormore grids.
 17. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the viewupdate module sorts a column of CRM information, the view update modulemaintaining a focus of the column of CRM information when the CRMinformation is sorted.
 18. The computing device of claim 14, wherein theview update module filters a column of CRM information, the view updatemodule maintaining a focus of the column of CRM information when the CRMinformation is filtered.
 19. The computing device of claim 14, whereinthe view update module filters cached CRM information not currentlybeing displayed, the view update module maintain a focus of CRMinformation being displayed when the cached CRM information notcurrently being displayed is filtered.
 20. A computer-readable storagemedium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium does not include asignal, comprising instructions that, when executed by a clientcomputer, cause the client computer to: integrate customer relationshipmanagement software into an email application, the email applicationincluding a user interlace; receive customer relationship management(CRM) information from a server computer; cache the received CRMinformation in a cache on the client computer; display the cached CRMinformation in one or more grids of the email application, at least onegrid of the email application including a plurality of columns of thecached CRM information, the at least one grid inluding a scroll bar fordisplaying the cached CRM information as a scrollable view, the displayof the cached CRM information being integrated into the user interfaceof the email application; remove a first column of CRM information fromthe at least one grid, a focus of the at least one grid being maintainedwhen the first column of CRM information is removed; add a second columnof CRM information to the at least one grid, the focus of the at leastone grid being maintained when the second column of CRM information isadded; sort a third column of CRM information in the at least one grid,the focus of the at least one grid being maintained when the thirdcolumn of CRM information is sorted; and filter a fourth column of CRMinformation in the at least one grid, the focus of the at least one gridbeing maintained when the fourth column of CRM information is filtered.